DMS463: Electronic Literature

Josephine Anstey, Professor, Department of Media Study, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, US

Dave Pape, Associate Professor, Department of Media Study, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, US

Course Type: Humanities-focused

Keywords: Elit, writing, Twine.

University Department Level Credits Length Medium
University at Buffalo Media Study Undergrad 4 15 Weeks In-person or online

Course Description

For decades, writer/artists have been using the computer as a medium for creating fictional and dramatic experiences. Many different kinds of both mainstream and experimental work fit under the umbrella of Electronic Literature: Digital Interactive Storytelling, Games, Intermedia Performance, Hypertext, Location-media, Virtual Reality, Escape Rooms. Practitioners variously focus on visuals, writing, coding, sound. Delivery systems are flexible and diverse: from mobile phone app to physical installation to augmented reality. This course focuses on this expanding and morphing territory. Students will read theoretical texts, analyze work, and create their own fictional and literary experiences in and around computer media.

Weekly Outline

  1. Introduction; discuss Grigar reading and Library of Congress exhibit
  2. Discuss “From Game Story to Cyberdrama”; discuss “Landscape 1” & “Marble Springs”; start Twine project
  3. Discuss “Choice/Texas”; discuss “Interactive Story Structures”; work on / test Twine project
  4. Discuss “Walking, Talking and Playing with Masculinities in Firewatch”; critique Twine projects
  5. Discuss “Making kin with the machines”;  view data-driven elit works; plan / pitch final project
  6. Discuss “A Manifesto for Ambient Literature”; play / discuss “It Must Have Been Dark by Then”; project planning check-in
  7. Discuss “The Gathering Cloud”; play / discuss “The Shoot Out”; project elevator pitches
  8. Discuss “Video Games as Unnatural Narratives”; project world-building; Panel Presentation 1
  9. Discuss “Third generation electronic literature”; project check-ins; Panel Presentation 2
  10. Project playtesting; Panel Presentation 3
  11. Project check-ins; Panel Presentation 4
  12. Play / discuss “The Pleasure of the Coast”; project check-ins
  13. Panel Presentation 5
  14. Panel Presentation 6
  15. Project critiques

Course Objectives ​

  • Trace the development and contemporary trends of Electronic Literature
  • Discuss major theoretical issues of Electronic Literature
  • Use theoretical material to analyze works of Electronic Literature
  • Plan and implement an Electronic Literature project.

Readings

  • “On Evolving and Emerging Literary Forms: A Curatorial Statement for ‘Electronic Literature & Its Emerging Forms”, Dene Grigar, 2013 (web)
  • “From Game Story to Cyberdrama”, Janet Murray, in First Person: New Media as Story, Performance and Game (web excerpt)
  • “Deena Larsen’s Metaphorical Interfaces”, Leonardo Flores (web)
  • “Interactive Story Structures”, Ira Nayman (web)
  • “Walking, Talking and Playing with Masculinities in Firewatch”, Melissa Kagen, Game Studies, volume 18, issue 2 September 2018 (web journal)
  • “Making kin with the machines.” AI-Human relationships, Jason Edward Lewis et al, (web journal)
  • “A Manifesto for Ambient Literature”, Tom Abba (web)

Viewings

  • “Landscape 1” project documentation, Luc Courchesne (www.courchel.net)
  • “Janet Murray on Eliza” (Vimeo)
  • “Exploring (Semantic) Space With (Literal) Robots”, Allison Parrish (Vimeo)
  • “Video Games as Unnatural Narratives”, Astrid Ensslin (Vimeo)
  • “Third generation electronic literature”, Leonardo Flores (Vimeo)

IDN Artifacts

  • Library of Congress, “Electronic Literature and its Emerging Forms Exhibition”, 2013 (web exhibit)
  • Deena Larsen, “Marble Springs” (Mac / online emulator)
  • “Choice/Texas” (Twine)
  • Mark Marino, “A Show of Hands” (web)
  • Allison Parrish, “I Waded in Clear Water” (procedurally-generated text)
  • James Ryan, “Sheldon County” (data-driven elit)
  • Sofian Audry, “For sleepers in the quiet earth” (data-driven elit)
  • Naho Matsuda, “EVERY THING EVERY TIME” (data-driven elit)
  • Eliza (online emulator)
  • Nick Montfort, “Taroko Gorge” (web)
  • Duncan Speakman, “It Must Have Been Dark by Then” (phone app)
  • J.R. Carpenter, “The Gathering Cloud” (web)
  • Alan Bigelow, “The Shoot Out” (web)
  • J.R. Carpenter, “The Pleasure of the Coast” (web)
  • “Firewatch” (Windows / Mac / Linux)

IDE and IDN Authoring Tools

  • Twine
  • Ren’Py
  • HTML 5
  • Unity3D
  • CheapBotsDoneQuick (https://cheapbotsdonequick.com/)
  • Tracery (http://tracery.io/)
  • miniatures for mobiles (https://aporee.org/mfm/)

Major Assignments (being assignments whose value is of 25% or more)

First project

  • Platform: Twine
  • Purpose: learn the basics of authoring an interactive story, focusing on non-linearity
  • Requirements:
    • Project Length: 2-5 minutes
    • Project Size: 25-50 passages
    • Project Aesthetics: The story must involve a trauma (emotional, physical, psychological), three characters (one of them the participant), at least two surprises/secrets/mixed-motives, and a desired object.
    • Coding Proficiency: Coding is not mandatory (project can be simply a series of linked passages), but students with more technical background may make use of Twine’s basic coding features.
  • Evaluation: 
    • Interactivity: The participant must have a clear role (are they a protagonist, an observer?).  There must be at least 3 situations which require choice or action.
    • Story and narrative: Choices by the participant should reveal something about the them. There must also be at least 3 situations which will evoke an emotional response.
    • Production values: High visual production values are not required.  The focus is on the narrative, and so the project can be purely text.  Correct grammar and spelling, and consistent design among passages, are expected.

Panel presentation

  • Platform: Powerpoint (in-class presentation)
  • Purpose: to analyze in detail and present on an existing work of electronic literature
  • Requirements:
    • Project Length: 20 minutes per student
    • Project Size: one work of electronic literature
    • Project Aesthetics: N/A
    • Coding Proficiency: N/A
  • Evaluation: 
    • Interactivity: N/A
    • Story and narrative: Spend roughly 2 minutes demonstrating the elit project.  Describe your background research (focus on discussion of the impact / criticism of the project, NOT too much on the makers).  Analyze the project in terms of its themes, ideas, or author’s intentions; the “game” mechanics and how they support the theme; and an assessment of whether you liked the project or not, and WHY.
    • Production values: Must have professional-looking, polished slides, and a prepared talk.  Be fully prepared when your time comes.  Use the allotted time well.

Final project

  • Platform: authoring system of student’s choice (typically Twine, RenPy, or Unity)
  • Purpose: a substantive, original work of interactive electronic literature
  • Requirements:
    • Project Length: at least an intense 15 minutes
    • Project Size: up to the student
    • Project Aesthetics: A story (loosely defined) involving multiple characters, motivations, and either player choices or dynamic (algorithmic) generation of content.  Features both text and images.  The project can be fiction or non-fiction, of any genre.
    • Coding Proficiency: Must be able to plan logic for player choices within the “game”.  Advanced coding is possible, but not required.
  • Evaluation: 
    • Interactivity: The participant must have a clear role (are they a protagonist, an observer?).  There must be multiple situations which require choice or action.
    • Story and narrative: Must have a clear authorial intent. There must be situations which evoke an emotional response.  Visuals, text, and mechanics must all help tell the story.
    • Production values: An “elevator pitch”, proposal, and planning documents (including timetable) must all be developed over the course of the project.  A playable demo is required for testing at the midpoint of the course.  Final version must be polished, and playable without intervention by the author.

Course Best Practices

  • The class meets twice a week, for two hour sessions.  Pre-covid, this was in person; more recent instances have met on Zoom.  Both versions also use discussion boards on the LMS.
  • The class is dual-listed as DMS 463 (undergraduate) and DMS 563 (graduate)
  • Most of the class time is spent in seminar-style discussions of the readings and elit projects; as such, it is vital that all students do the readings and actually experience the projects before each class session.
  • Class discussions begins with a shared document that all students must contribute to.
  • A standardized “description exercise”, in breakout groups, is followed for works of electronic literature that students experience.
  • The “Panel discussions” require students to be fully responsible for the analysis and discussion of certain works in the latter half of the semester.